July 1st 1916 – Attack on La Boisselle

On the worst day ever in British military history, La Boisselle was the worst battlefield.  It holds the following records:

  • The highest number of casualties on the day – 6,380
  • The highest number of soldiers killed – 2,267
  • The highest number of Unknown soldiers – 1,927, 85% of the soldiers killed
  • The widest piece of No Man’s Land on the Somme battlefront – Mash Valley 800m
  • The Lochnagar Mine, which was the largest man-made explosion at that time

Attack on La Boisselle – 5 mins

Mash Valley – 2 min 40 sec

Glory Hole Lochnagar Mine – 1 min 10 sec

Sausage Valley – 2 min 30 sec

Methods of attack

Mines – 1 min 50 sec

Artillery – 40 sec

Machine Gun – 2 mins

Narrated by Brendan Maitland

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